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Sometimes it is difficult to live up to your stereotype.. I realize that what I am about to write is so Boulder Hippie that it almost comical….but have you heard of Kefir? Have you had Kefir? To top that…have you MADE Kefir?

Kefir can be found in most health food stores and some progressive grocery stores. It comes in two forms, water kefir and dairy kefir. Kefir is a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains. It has been in use for a very long time and can trace it’s origins to the Baltics and Russia.

My husband decided that he would make his own kefir, as we were buying quite a lot of it pre-made with sugar and low-fat. It is available in full fat, unsweetened but harder to find. So he ordered the grains (you can also buy them in the refrigerator section of your health food store) and embarked on a kefir making extravaganza. I was pregnant at the time and was a little cautious of the bubbling and obviously alive drink my husband drank right out of the jug. In the year that he has been making kefir, I have only had it once.

So let’s talk health benefits. Kefir is unique in that it “eats” all of the lactose sugars in milk, thereby making it digestible to those with lactose issues. It is chock full of essential vitamins, probiotics and protein. Basically a superfood if you will. I am linking you to a site that can better explain the health benefits. I can tell you that this past summer I drank a whole bottle of the store bought kind and it cured my intestinal bug when nothing else did.

Post Pregnancy has not been kind to me. I am losing my hair, I have acne and I have been battling with my weight since having my baby. I have gained weight quite steadily and am having trouble curbing my hunger, and wielding my will-power. I am eating whole foods for the most part, and working on cutting out the sweets (but that is what this breastfeeding mama really wants). Here I am in all of my post pregnancy glory. It isn’t pretty.

So I was trying to figure out a quick breakfast that would include whole foods, didn’t involve cooking (or meat or eggs. I hate eggs) that had enough protein to carry me through my first two classes. And I thought about the copious amount of kefir we keep in our fridge. I also have a large amount of peaches and cherries that I froze from the summer. I grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado. The valley is a perfect place to grow peaches, cherries, apricots and grapes. Every summer I go back home for a quick visit and pick up 20 lbs of peaches to carry me through the cold winter months.

Kefir Peach Cherry Smoothie

2 tree-ripened peaches (or 1 cup frozen)

1/2 cup cherries

1 cup home made kefir

2 tbs flax seeds

1 tbs chia seeds

Blend until smooth. Pour in a glass and drink on your way to work.

My darling little Miss E. has not had anything besides breastmilk, but today after I made this smoothie she was quite insistant that I share with her. Babies should not consume cows milk or dairy until they are older, but I dipped my finger in the smoothie and offered it to her. She loved it.